Teaching phonics can become a bit monotonous day after day, but there are lots of ways to keep it engaging!
Here are a few examples of the ways I’ve tried to keep phonics lessons interactive, hands on, and FUN!
Phonics instruction can also be differentiated with a little creativity.

BUILDING WORDS & SENTENCES
This activity allows for differentiation because the tasks get more complex as you work down the page. Some students will only be required to print the letters and build the [Read More…]

When do you start teaching phonics?
There are so many things going on at the start of a new school year!
We are getting to know new personalities, watching them interact with each other, and at the same time, we are taking notes and assessing abilities.
One of the first things I set up are my EASY and independent literacy centers.

These take very little explanation, and students can happily work on literacy skills while I use valuable time to assess their abilities before moving [Read More…]

One of the most engaging activities in my classroom over the last 20+ year has been Secret Sentences. Students LOVE to solve a secret mystery, and even better when they are practicing their letter sound knowledge at the same time!
WHERE TO BEGIN: SIMPLE WORDS
We begin with simple words. We use word tiles, scrabble tiles, or homemade tiles with n

As shown, student place tiles to match the FIRST SOUND of each little picture. They can also use dry erase marker on [Read More…]

Do your students love animal research projects?
It’s a great way to introduce non-fiction writing, and it can be a source of pride for students who feel very “grown up” because they are doing research! However, this enthusiasm can be dampened if emergent writers are not supported with reading materials at their level, and so long as the information sources are not too overwhelming.

This is why differentiating your non-fiction materials for emergent writers is so important.
Here are some tips for implementing your [Read More…]

We reserve time each day for story writing.
There are so many ways to encourage students to write, even when they are just at the emergent level.

Two things that I focus on the most in my primary classroom are:
-Students feel confident in their ability to express ideas through writing.
-Students have the opportunity to share their written ideas in a supportive environment.

Explore Different Kinds of Writing

Many students have no strategies for finding a topic, so we spend time discussing different forms of writing and [Read More…]

I am constantly trying to find new ways to integrate different subject areas in my classroom. We have LOTS of activities that integrate math, art and writing, but because it’s that time of year to start studying life cycles, we’ve now incorporated science into the mix! Here’s how we do it:

Our caterpillars arrived last week and my students are completely engaged in learning about their life cycle. We used color by numbers templates to create the round life cycle pictures [Read More…]

Directed Drawing is a fun and engaging way to integrate art and writing.
Here are some ways that I use art in my classroom to encourage more writing!

WRITING COMPLIMENTS

After your whole class directed drawing lessons, invite students to do a “gallery walk” around the room to see other students’ work. Then, leave a post-it note beside each picture and assign secret partners. Students study their partner’s drawing and write a compliment on the post-it note. Students love to return to their [Read More…]

MAKING TIME FOR ART
As a primary teacher with a degree in visual art and art history, it’s so sad for me to hear that art programs across the country are being eliminated, art budgets being cut, and that teachers just don’t have time for art lessons because of increased pressure to get through other curriculum.

I’ve experienced the same things in my own district, and so I am trying to think of art in a different way to come up with some [Read More…]

How do you handle differentiation when it comes to non-fiction writing?

Over the last 20 years, I’ve learned that when teaching in my multi-age classroom, differentiation is a MUST. There are many different ways to accomplish this, and I have found that getting this right can make students feel very successful, which makes it a big deal!

MODIFY THE CONTENT

When we are working on non-fiction, for example, I offer students information in many different ways. I prefer to allow them to choose the materials [Read More…]